SECOND RONCHI BOOK CHAPTER 3: RETURN TO MY HEART (sneak preview)

After my beautiful and fulfilling experiences at the Lory Park Zoo on the first of January 2011, I was filled with optimism and also determined to return to my heart (Milan).

A great part of me wondered and hoped that I could show Marko, Giaco and the sons of Marko the remarkable zoo in South Africa. I knew that it would be such a different experience for them and I could visualise the amusement, the excitement and the incredible joy on the boy’s faces standing in front of the great lions and also the tigers. Perhaps in future such a day could be possible because the future is unknown to all, anything can happen and all is possible.

During the course of January I felt great feelings of excitement, most probably because I started to visualise my trip back to Milan of coarse and because I started to place into motion the actions required to actually return.

I googled in the evenings several different accommodation options because although I enjoy staying in Hotels, I preferred to sometimes cook within my own space too, thus I decided to rather rent an apartment for the time I would be spending back in my heart.

Very quickly I was in contact with a wonderful lady with the name of Christina who was an agent for holiday apartment rentals in the Center of Milan. She presented me with a beautiful and comfortable furnished apartment in Piazza San Babila Milan Italy situated a few 100 meters away from Piazza dal Duomo. I did not think twice and I booked the apartment immediately. I then made my way to the travelling agency and booked my flight to Milan when the travelling agent also offered to book my appointment with the Italian embassy so that I could provide them with all of my proof and in return grant me my Visa.

The normal requirements for the embassy to approve a Visa is to provide them with proof of employment, proof of an applaudable amount of finances to be proved within the form of bank statements and then of coarse of the booked and payed residence as well as proof of the flight ticket.

If someone in Italy had to arrange a trip for another person in South Africa, the requirements are different of coarse but this was once again my planned trip and very soon the Italian embassy approved and provided me with my Visa, stamped beautifully into my passport.

After my trip was planned and payed for, I happily waited for my departure date to arrive and I decided to send Marko sms messages almost daily, informing him of my arrival and also mentioning to him my intention for my return. I informed him that my first book was written and completed and if he wanted to, he could invest in the publication of it. I also mentioned many other things to him to try and understand his intentions. Obviously I could not manage to figure out his intentions while I was still in South Africa and this made my trip back to Italy eerie, not knowing what exactly I should expect upon my arrival. It felt as if I was on my way to an unknown adventure, I was truly fearful but it was a good type of fear, more excitement to be clear.

Finally my date of departure arrived and I was so happy that I could’ve brought happiness to the entire planet because of my excited heart and my pure joy.

Packing was quick but at that time I decided to use a different type of suitcase and hand luggage. I did not use my pearl pink bags at that time to return to Italy, no, I chose to travel with my brown leather suitcases which was one big leather suitcase and a smaller suitcase that was my hand luggage.

My mother and Lizelle kindly accompanied me to O. R. Thambo International Airport in South Africa and we decided to dine after my luggage was checked in. We laughed, told some classic jokes, drank some good wine before boarding time when I then greeted them kindly at the gates and walked off into the direction of my flight. There were no sadness or tears, ohh no, the only emotion that filled my heart was excitement of the unknown.

Boarding and finding my seat on the aeroplane was quick and swift but peace only fell over my travelling heart once I was seated in my window seat next to the wing of the plane. As always, the flight attendants on Emirates airlines are very pleasant and excellent at attending the passengers during the flight with the intent to provide the best service possible.

Every time I travel, I absolutely love the take-off. The speed of the wheels in motion, the pressure pulling me back into my seat and then the upwards motion when the plane lifts off of the ground, ascending upwards into the sky while I stare at the beauty of the earth beneath me through the window. I absolutely adored flying with Emirates; they truly are the most luxurious, kindest and most professional airline I have ever travelled with.

Once the plane was flying in a horizontal position, high up in the air and the seat belts sign was turned off I knew that it was time for me to get up and to change seats into the middle isle of the aeroplane. There were very little passengers on the flight and for this reason I had a whole row of seats for myself. I got up swiftly, took some blankets, lifted the arm rests, placed two pillows behind my head and gently pulled the blankets over me. I then decided to browse through the in-flight entertainment and chose the movie called “Just go with it” starring “Adam Sandler” and “Jennifer Aniston”. I layed peacefully, laughing in the flight because of the comedy I was busy watching, eating aeroplane food, drinking wine and making the air hostesses roar with laughter because of my joy. I was comfortable, peaceful and very happy until I drifted off into a deep sleep only to be woken by my air hostess who presented breakfast to me and whom also informed me that we would soon be descending and arrive in Dubai.

Once I was alert and drank some coffee, I moved back towards my original seat and patiently waited to land. I was very excited at that time because I wondered how my friends were in Dubai airport.

Over a period of time, travelling to and from Dubai airport I made great friends with waiters and waitresses, bar man’s and bar ladies, restaurant owners, managers, directors in the airport itself and at that time I had high hopes that they would be surprised by my transit presence. I missed them to some extent because most of the times we were all laughing and talking for hours that in the past I almost missed my flights.

Finally the plane landed and after I left the plane and I was off to the bathroom first of coarse to freshen up because an hour or two before, I was still fast asleep on the flight which made me look like a person that had just awoken and climbed out of bed.

I washed my face very quickly and touched up my make-up, combed and tied my hair elegantly up onto my head, placed some under arm roll on, sprayed some deodorant and fixed my clothing perfectly. When I took the exit out of the bathroom, I felt very refreshed and confident similar to the song of “Roy Orbison” – Pretty woman. I had a great smile on my face and ready to make all of my airport friends smile with joy.

It was quite a long walk from the bathrooms towards the restaurant that I normally visited and luckily there were not many guests present. Once I placed my bottom onto a chair by a single table the barman looked at me and away, only to turn his attention back towards me instantly, with an enormous smile on his face and it seemed as if he was going to yell from the top of his lungs from pure excitement “Ahhhh Mari, how are you? Have you written your books?” he asked with an enormous smile on his face. “Ehehehe, hello dear. I am perfect thank you. Yes, I wrote my first book, it is not published yet but I am working on it. How are you?” I answered and asked politely to the barman who’s name I regretfully couldn’t remember. “Ahhh you know, I am still here, always here, waiting for you to visit, what do you want to drink? Wait, I know, a glass of our finest red wine, wait I bring for you, it is on me.” he replied and informed me and walked off before I could get a word in. I stood still looking at the Rolex clock on the wall and I saw that it was late in the afternoon in Dubai and I wondered if I really should drink wine after my body knew that I just had a full night’s rest. I could not be impolite so I sighed and decided that I will have the glass of wine and I then I sat down again.

After I sat down and took out my Ipad to browse the internet for a while I noticed a very, very tall man seated at a table next to me and he drank a very large beer. He looked at me, smiled and then greeted me kindly. I greeted him kindly back and I could hear from his accent that he was from the United Kingdom and that he was the tallest mad I had ever seen. It was true, when he stood up to go to the rest room I knew that my assumption was correct.

Very soon the tall stranger and I started to talk about many different subjects and we became well acquainted with each other. He was from London and his name was David. He was a very sincere and sweet man. I enjoyed his company thoroughly while I waited for my next flight.

David, apart from his length was a very attractive man, he had blue eyes, blond hair, perfect facial features and a very deep voice with his British accent. I absolutely adore the British accent, I think it is incredibly sexy, especially when the language is spoken in the highest form of vocabulary but then again, I also love the Italian language, especially when spoken with a deep male voice, ahhh it makes my legs feel like jelly.

After a few hours of networking with David he had to leave to board his next flight, forgive me, I cannot recall exactly where he was flying to but when he started to collect his belongings and dairy that was laying on the table in front of him, a paper flew out of his open dairy and landed directly onto my lap. I sat staring at this paper in awe when I noticed that it was some type of reminder list when I then accidentally read the first line. It said “Always be faithful to M. P.”. I sat still in shock and handed his paper back to him immediately apologising and admitting to him that I read the first line. David shrugged it off because it was important to him, he was not ashamed of it and I realised that David was truly a very good man, he kept a reminder (motivation) to never be unfaithful to his girlfriend he explained to me and I truly admired this about him.

David and I then kindly greeted one another and he walked off towards his final destination.

Once I sat down again I studied the notification board to check when exactly my flight back to Milan was going to board only to have a minor heart attack when I realised that my flight was already boarding.

I payed my account very quickly and I ran with my hand luggage praying not to miss the flight. Once I reached the boarding gates and once I was on the aeroplane seated by a window next to the wing, I was finally relieved.

The flight back to Milan from Dubai was only a four hour flight and unfortunately I needed to stay in my seat because the flight was filled with passengers, there were no open seats at all. I did not mind because I was not sleepy, in fact, I was very excited knowing that within the following four hours, I would be back in Milan Italy, my heart, Il mio cuore!!!

During the course of the flight I started to think about everything I had to do when I arrived back in Milan and I began to feel nervous. I knew that I needed to take a taxi from the airport into the Center of the City and I also knew that I needed to ask the taxi driver to first stop so that I can buy a TIM or Vodafone sim card, load onto my phone some call time and to call the agent so that I can inform her that I arrived at the airport and that I was on my way to the apartment to collect the keys from her. I was so nervous and worried that the agent was going to be late and that I had to wait in front of the building with my luggage. I did not want to do that, my stress levels were raising at that time with the thoughts and I almost went into a minor panic when I decided to rather think beautiful thoughts.

My thoughts started to drift on into a magical place, thoughts that was simply a silly fantasy….

I arrived at Malpensa airport and still occupied in my mind about the travel into the City with a taxi had me nervous. I yearned that my travel to my apartment and getting settled would go smoothly. Once I collected my bags from the conveyer belt, I took the exit out towards the street where I knew that I would find a taxi but I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him. Marko peacefully waited for me at the exit and he had the greatest smile on his beautiful face with eyes shining once again like stars with the mere sight of me.

I was shocked and frozen when suddenly without another thought I leaped forward to give him the greatest hug and most passionate kiss. He came to collect me at the airport and surprised me and my heart filled with so much passion for him with such a simple act of kindness that my soul could have burst straight out of my skin…..

My mind fantasised while I still sat patiently on my flight back to Milan. “Don’t be silly Marilette, you always fantasise fairy tales like these but have they ever manifested into true form?” My rational mind argued with my delightful soul. (Sigh) I sat and decided to rather not think at all.

Moments later I stood up and collected my Ipad because I remembered that I had to play with Gina the giraffe and it was way past feeding time for my electronic pet.

Time passed slowly and when the air hostess announced that the plane will be descending soon to land in Malpensa Airport I felt unbelievably excited, hopeful and I wondered if there perhaps could be a possibility that Marko was waiting for me. It was a beautiful and hopeful thought but I did not place my heart on it, anything was possible and I accepted people’s actions as it was.

It started to feel as if the plane was taking forever to land, my soul started to feel restless because all I wanted to do at that moment after almost 18 hours of travel was to get settled into the apartment and to run as fast as humanly possible to the Duomo and to Ronchi78, unfortunately I could only do all of these things after the plane decided to eventually land.

FINALLY, after months, weeks, hours, days, minutes and seconds I stepped onto the grounds of Lombardia again, peace fell over me and it felt as if Archangels covered me with their wings to let me know that my wish was granted. I stood within the moment for a while, feeling the tranquillity and the joy that overflew from my heart and then slowly my mind was directed back towards reality and all the things I still needed to do to feel completely settled.

I stood by the conveyer belts waiting for my suitcase, secretively hoping that when I leave that particular area into the waiting area of the airport that Marko would be waiting for me.

Once I retrieved my luggage and placed it onto an airport trolley, I walked hastily out towards the waiting area only to have been left disappointed by my silly fantasy. Marko was not there but I stood still for a moment, looking around and hoping that he would show up but he didn’t. With a saddened heart I walked towards the exit of the airport.

I saw a taxi driver and kindly asked him to please take me to the Center of Milan. The man was very kind, he could not speak English at all but luckily I could speak more Italian at the time.

The drive from Malpensa airport into the Center of the City of Milan was about an hours drive and luckily my taxi driver was very talkative.

I felt quite puzzled at that moment, “Who on earth in Italy would write the same book as I and publish it?” I thought sadly in my own thoughts. “The written words from my heart is my truth and mine only, people must not try and copy me.” I thought again. Luckily I did not find my book published in Italy so I was very relieved.

After we stopped for me to buy a sim card and call time, I phoned the lady who was in possession of my apartment keys immediately and I informed her that I will be in front of the apartment building within 20 minutes, I also explained to her my outfit which was jeans at that time with a comfortable white buttoned corporate shirt and a black coat with brown leather suitcases.

The lady listened closely and then kindly agreed that she would be at the building with the keys once I arrived and I was finally happy. My concerns had been for nothing and I could have had a better travel if I excluded my minor stresses.

Within less than 15 minutes we arrived at the apartment building but unfortunately there was no parking anywhere close to the building so the driver took a detour and we parked about 3 blocks away.

He actively helped me with my luggage and accompanied me to the front of my apartment building.

A lady I noticed came running over the street and smiled with an amused light on her face when she saw me, she held out her hand, greeted me and she showed me my apartment keys. I was very happy and so relieved at that moment I could jump from joy. I then kindly thanked my driver and payed him quickly and then made my way with the lady to the elevator.

My booked, furnished and payed for accommodation was situated on the second floor. The front door key was a very long and thin key, I was very excited when I finally stood in front of the door ready for it to be unlocked and to enter and get settled once and for all.

While we entered it was so dark, I could not see a thing, the woman moved around close to me and switched on a light then walked over to the blinds and opened all of the blinds in the apartment with switches against the walls. It was a bachelors apartment, very comfortable, well furnished, beautiful lights against the walls and there was also a sliding door to open and to walk out onto a big balcony where the washing machine also stood.

I walked around the apartment simply observing and I paid attention while the lady spoke and explained everything to me.

There was a coat hanger that I noticed that stood close to the front door as well as a little desk and desk chair. Further onwards was the tiny kitchen, everything was an open plan design. I realized that there was also a little bar fridge and there was a gas stove, unfortunately there was no oven to bake my own biscotti for Marko, Giaco and the football team as well as all the musicians, and all of the staff in Ronchi78. I was sad but I decided that perhaps I could just buy biscotti for them again and I sighed.

Against another end of the wall was a CD Player /Radio and above that was a plasma that hung against the wall and then of coarse underneath the plasma and the CD Player, a cupboard for me to unpack and pack my clothing into the drawers. Next to the little entertainment space was the sliding door and on the opposite end of the apartment next to the front door was a large brown couch.

The lady signalled over to me to walk with her into the other section of the apartment where I saw the bedroom and next to bathroom was an open walk in closet where all the clothing that needed to be hung could hang and it was also the space to apparently keep shopping bags because there were plenty.

The bathroom was beautiful, it had a very large and wide shower, toilet, basin, all elegant but I did realise that there was no bath tub. I was somewhat disappointed because I adore my bubble baths but I accepted that there was none and became joyful again.

I stood still for a moment and I pondered because we had gone through the whole apartment and I did not see a bed at all. I was a little confused and worried then turned on the spot to look at the kind lady with my very curious eyes, “Where is the bed?” I asked. She smiled and lead me towards the large brown couch that stood next to the front door. She pulled the couch and it unfolded into a large double bed. I was quite impressed because the bed was also already made up elegantly with many layers of sheets.

She then undid her action and told me to try it for myself. I did as she asked and to my amusement it was very easy. At that moment I was finally relieved and very satisfied, I was going to be comfortable and I could finally get settled in.

I greeted the kind lady once all was explained and in order and when she left, I closed the door behind me and fell backwards onto the large couch bed, sighing with relief, finally back in my heart and very comfortable.

I layed on the bed for a while, simply to rewind and to breathe until my eyes spotted the clock gainst the wall and the time was past 3pm. “Oh my goodness, Nooooooooooooo, I need to get to Ronchi quick and greet Giaco to let him know that I have arrived and that I was safely back in Milan.” I thought in a panic.

I flew up off of the bed, ran to the bathroom to fix my hair, I swiftly collected my hand bag and my apartment keys, locked up and ran. I ran out of my apartment building, down Via Emanuelle towards the Duomo and with the first sight of the miraculous Cathedral of my heart my body stopped running. “Ahhhhh, it is beautiful.” I said to myself in my thoughts while I started to glide towards the Duomo. I wanted to hug it but I could not do so at that time because the streets were filled with people, there were also many tourists on the Piazza and then of coarse guards in front of the every entrance of the Cathedral. I had to exclude the thought about hugging the Cathedral and continued to admire the miraculous beauty of it.

Once I passed the Duomo, I was alert and coherent again, I could run once more. I ran past the Piazza into Via Torino, passing many stores until I reached Via San Maurillio.

Once I stood at the corner of Via Torino and Via San Maurillio, I browsed very quickly to see if Ronchi was still open and to my luck it was.

I felt an enormous jolt of excitement rushing through me and I hasted forward instantly, “I feel nervous, why am I so nervous?” I thought while nearing Ronchi with every passing moment. My palms were sweaty and my stomach turned in a nervous but happy and very excited way. Once I stood in front of the door of Ronchi78, my heart started to pump the blood much faster through my veins, I could hear my heart accelerating in my ear drums and I opened the door.

I entered smiling and I saw Giaco standing behind of the bar and in front of the cash register while Massimo came walking towards Giaco from the Kitchen side.

Giaco looked my way and a bright smile appeared on his face saying “VuVuuuu” while I walked slowly towards him and Massimo with great excitement saying “Giacoooo, ehehehe, I am here!!!”

Giaco kept on smiling as if he expected my arrival and I then knew that Marko might have informed him because I sent to Marko emails and sms messages to let him know about my date and time of departure as well as my arrival date and time. Somehow I felt somewhat heartbroken because I expected a little more excitement from Giaco and a hug at least with a little greater joy while I stood staring around in Ronchi78 as if hoping to see Marko. I informed Marko so clearly about all of my departure and arrival times which left my soul saddened by the fact that he was not at the airport or in Ronchi.

While I stood in Ronchi staring back at Giaco after browsing the atmosphere for more life I saw that Giaco took out his Iphone and made a quick call. “Si, lei e qui.” he said to the other person on the line and moments later he then ended the call.

Giaco looked at me again smiling, “How was the elephants in Sud Africa?” he asked me. “Ok.” I said joyfully not exactly knowing what was going on at the time.

Massimo at least greeted me with much more excitement and gave me a light hug. I felt better about the light hug from Massimo because I was not certain about what was going on at all.

“Vuvu”, Giaco called over to me from behind the cash register, “See you tonight.” he said with another smile. I nodded and decided to leave Ronchi to go and visit the Duomo properly, to take a walk through the Galleria and also to greet the statue of Leonardo da Vinci in front of Theatro Alla Scala.

I did my rounds like I normally did in Milan and when I finally entered the Duomo, I took a walk peacefully down the middle isle of the Cathedral looking at the enormous Cross with Christ on it that hung from the ceiling. I walked peacefully until I chose a wooden bench to sit on and after I sat down I breathed. With every inhale and exhale my heart filled and fluttered as I felt serenity washing over my entire mind, my body and my soul. I sat in this stillness and gratitude for a while and then I silently started to pray, “Dearest God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, thank you for my safe journey back to Milan, my heart, I am very grateful for my pleasant trip and my safe return. Amen.”

After my beautiful moment of silence inside of the magnificent Duomo, I took an exit and strolled through the Galleria to sit by Leonardo da Vinci statue. The statue was still, perfect and looked like he always did, then I finally decided to take a peaceful walk back to my apartment, to rest for a moment and then to start with my preparations for my evening in Ronchi78.

Time flew by so fast in the afternoon while I unpacked all of my clothing, listened to Radio Kiss Kiss on the stereo, took a long and relaxing shower, did my hair, my make-up and danced around in the room to the love songs that was playing. It was a Monday evening and to my knowledge the football team was not going to be in Ronchi78 that evening but I decided to take the bottle of wine and also the Vuvuzela’s that I bought in South Africa, with me to Ronchi that evening. I had hope that perhaps they all missed me and would surprise me that night in Ronchi, my first evening of my return so I knew that I had to be prepared come what may.

I collected a shopping bag and placed the Vuvuzela’s into it, also the bottle of wine, took my handbag and my keys and I was off to Ronchi at about 9pm that evening.

When I entered, the only person that was there was Massimo, it was very quiet and there were almost no guests. I walked and sat peacefully in my corner table with my bag of goodies for the football team next to me when Massimo approached me, “Ciao Vuvu, tutto bene?” he asked me smiling and looking towards my gift bag. “Ciao Massimo, si tutto bene grazie.” I answered him contently.

I was and have always been so peaceful sitting in Ronchi, looking at the elegance, the warm colours and the tiny candles on top of every table that appeared to me like warm and glowing stars in the sky. Ahhhh Ronchi have always been and still is so peaceful and brings a sense of serenity to my heart. At that moment I simply sat and felt intoxicated with the serenity within my heart and my glowing soul.

“Massimo?” I called over to him. Massimo responded immediately and walked hastily over to my table. I then took the bag of goodies, placed it onto my lap and took out the bottle of wine and a Vuvuzela to show to him the gifts that I was planning to give to the football team. Massimo smiled broadly, “It is for the football team Massimo, will you keep it here?” I asked him. Massimo nodded his head and then took the bag and placed it behind the bar counter when he looked at me again and said “Vuvu, the football team only come to Ronchi not tomorrow night, another night.” I looked at him and nodded my head but I then felt very sad “Did Marko not want to see me?” I thought while my heart was breaking a little.

The evening did not last long in Ronchi78 because I started to feel the exhaustion from my trip back to Milan. About 11pm I started to collect my belongings, kindly greeted Massimo and I left. My walk back to the apartment was slow and peaceful, it was winter and it was freezing too. While I walked I wondered when it was going to snow because I had high hopes that it would.

The following morning when I opened the blinds in my apartment I saw the tiniest white flakes falling from heaven. It was snowing quite a lot and the brightest smile appeared on my face. I immediately ran and grabbed hold of my phone and sent to Marko and Giaco an sms message “Loooook it is snowing, it’s almost like Christmas, it’s beautiful!!!!! WoHoooooo.” and I pressed the send button. I was unbelievably happy because I love the snow, it is beautiful and one can do many fun, exciting and adventurous activities in the snow. To be honest, I actually adore all of the seasons because every season has its own uniqueness and blessings.

During the day I stayed in because it was very cold but I read through Running with angels when I noticed that I forgot to complete the Chapter about the Saints so I completed it quickly. I also danced and sang, it was an incredibly fun day and I felt rested.

Later on in the evening when I entered Ronchi, I noticed a man sitting at my corner table playing with his IPad. I sighed silently, accepted it and sat at the table in front of him.

Massimo approached me to inform me that the wine was delicious and that he gave the Vuvuzela’s to his little cousins. I sat for a moment in shock, “I told Massimo that it was for the football team, how could he drink the wine and give the Vuvuzela’s away?” I thought sadly. I looked at Massimo, gave a small smile at him and nodded my head, then I directed my attention towards something else. I felt so disappointed with Massimo at that moment, I was very sad but I decided to take out my cellular phone and to text Marko and apology sms, letting him know that Massimo unfortunately drank the bottle of wine and gave away the Vuvuzela’s that I brought for him and the football team from South Africa. After I sent the sms message I simply sat and started to pay attention to the guests around me.

Shortly afterwards, the man and I who sat at my corner table behind me started to talk to each other. He was quite interesting but I could feel and hear the doubt within his body language about his job, his boss and his career. I spent the evening trying to inspire him and to rid him of all of his fears, concerns and his doubts. Once I told him to follow the light he almost went into a minor shock and he sat speechless staring at me. He then informed me that “Follow the light” was the name of one of his short films that he made. In his eyes I could see that the fear and the doubts lifted off of him as if he was having a revelation. I could feel at that moment that he was more optimistic and positive about his future and my job was done, Ta Daaaaa.

Some time after I spoke to the gentleman behind me I felt that I did not want to stay much longer in Ronchi. I missed Marko very much and with every second that passed by, and the hope that he would walk through the door exhausted me. I felt very uninspired at that time and decided to take a walk back to my apartment in the snow. Milan was gorgeous covered in the snow and it looked as if Mother Mary took a white and thick sheet and layed it over the City to protect the City from all harm. The sight was absolutely breath-taking.

The following afternoon I was excited because I knew that I was finally going to see Marko and the football team and I also realised that I had to go to Billa (supermarket) situated closest to my apartment to quickly buy some biscotti and some chocolates for Marko, Giaco and the football team because Massimo consumed and gave away the presents that I brought for them from South Africa.

Later in the afternoon I quickly ran towards the supermarket and I bought all that I wanted for the beautiful evening that was ahead of me. I also bought a tiny silver coloured gift bag with the intention to insert Marko’s €300 into it and to give it to him.

When I returned from the supermarket very joyfully and entered my apartment I placed the biscotti and the chocolates into my hand bag when I also took out my wallet and inserted the money into the little gift bag, well I had an extra 10 Euro’s in my wallet and inserted it into the little gift bag too just for interest sake and placed it safely away in my hand bag.

I decided that when I gave the little gift back with the money inside of it to him then if he wanted to, we could discuss my book publication career, if that is what he wanted to do.

After all of my gifts for Marko, Ronchi and the football team was dealt with, I slowly and joyfully started to get ready to go to Ronchi. I danced to the beats of the music on Radio Kiss Kiss, I sang out loud, I took a long and relaxing shower, I curled my hair and did my make-up and just before I left my apartment I sprayed on some perfume. I was unbelievably excited and happy.

9:30pm I walked into Ronchi, quickly placing biscotti onto the long table of Marko and his football team friends and I then gently threw the Lindt chocolates into the chocolate container that stood on the bar counter. I knew that I had to wait because they only entered at a later hour but I was patient.

Around about 10pm the football team started to enter sporadically. I smiled at each and every one of them very warmly because it felt is if they were all my little ducklings and that I needed to nurture them with kindness, with laughter, with biscotti and with chocolates. I was so happy to see them, they all looked healthy as usual and very happy to see me. Marko was distant most of the evening. He mostly sat and stared at me secretively with emotion wanting to explode from his heart and his beautiful eyes that sparkled like diamonds whenever he looked at me.

Eventually Marko approached me, it seemed as if he had to find the courage from Heaven to approach me and he then stood in front of me with his upper body directed towards me, his hands opened while showing his palms upwards into my direction and asked me shyly, “Would you like to come to the Music Competition this coming Thursday evening?” I stood shocked with the question, I did not exactly think that the first words he would say to me was an invitation to go to a competition but at least he said something, I was really happy and replied joyfully “Yes, of coarse, where and what is the time?” I asked him curiously.Marko seemed very happy and relieved with my answer “You can ask Giaco for the address and the time.” he answered while Giaco quickly wrote down the details and handed it over to me. “Thank you very much.” I said when Marko nodded and smiled then he retreated back to the table that he was sitting at with his body facing towards me all of the time. Massimo and I then decided to sing songs out loud together at the opposite side of Ronchi close to the kitchen, I sang the song “Umbrella” by “Rihanna”, it was much fun while Marko and I kept looking at each other, he looked like he was trying his best to keep himself in his seat because I could see his breathing became much deeper and his eyes sparkled with emotion that I have never seen before in my entire life. He was and is so beautiful, he is the most eccentric, unpredictable and magical man that I have ever met. I loved and love him just the way he was and still is. I loved and love him more than any man in this world because he is completely different and exciting. Most of the times when I think about him, the song “Just the way you are” by “Billy Joel” plays in my mind together with many other songs, but no matter what he does or do not do, I just love him just the way he is.

My evening ended magically once again, my heart was fluttering with joy and all was finally well in my world once again.